Authorities have started evacuating villages located near the volcano, which has been showing increasing activity this month, after its alert status was raised to the highest "warning" level on Wednesday.
joint rescue team of police and military personnel has evacuated dozens of villagers living around Mount Ibu on Halmahera Island in North Maluku following an increase in volcanic activity since the beginning of 2025.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said authorities planned to evacuate approximately 3,000 residents from six villages located within a radius of 5 to 6 kilometers from the summit. The evacuation would be carried out in stages, prioritizing vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women and the elderly.
“As of Thursday afternoon, 182 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters,” BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement on Thursday.
The shelters are located in Tongute Sungi and Akesibu village, respectively located around 8 km and 9 km from the stratovolcano.
Mt. Ibu erupted four times on Thursday, spewing columns of thick gray ash into the air 500-600 meters above the summit.
According to data collected at the Mt. Ibu observation post, the first three eruptions occurred between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. with a maximum seismic amplitude measurement of 28 millimeters and a duration of 36-44 seconds.
The fourth eruption was the largest and occurred at 3:44 p.m. with a maximum amplitude of 28 mm and lasted 98 seconds, and spewed a hot ash column 1,500 meters to the sky.
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